“God Bless America” is an American patriotic song written by Irving Berlin in 1918 during World War I and revised by him in 1938 in the period leading up to World War II. The later version was recorded by Kate Smith, becoming her signature song.
The song is structured as a prayer, with introductory lyrics noting that “as we raise our voices, in a solemn prayer,” and asks for God’s blessing and guidance for the nation (“stand beside her and guide her through the night”).
Irving Berlin wrote the song at the end of World War I while serving in the U.S. Army at Camp Upton in Yaphank, New York. He decided that it did not fit a planned revue titled Yip Yip Yaphank and set it aside. The early lyrics included the line “Make her victorious on land and foam, God bless America…” as well as “Stand beside her and guide her to the right with the light from above”.
Music critic Jody Rosen has noted that a 1906 Jewish dialect novelty song, “When Mose with His Nose Leads the Band,” contains a six-note fragment that is “instantly recognizable as the opening strains of ‘God Bless America'”. He interprets this as an example of Berlin’s habit of interpolating fragments of earlier songs into his own work. Berlin, born Israel Baline, had himself written several Jewish-themed novelty songs.
“If you hit a wrong note, then make it right by what you play afterwards.” — Joe Pass
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